Best Kept Secrets Blog

Best’s Wines was established in 1866 by the pioneering Henry Best and sold to neighbour and second generation vigneron, Frederick P Thomson in 1920.

Under the guidance of the Thomson family, the Best’s name has continued to thrive. Fourth generation vigneron, Viv Thomson and son Ben continue to combine traditional methods with modern technology to create wines of renown and integrity.

Founded in 1866 in the Great Western wine region of Victoria, Best’s Great Western is one of Australia’s oldest continuously family owned and operated wineries. Best’s is known to have some of the oldest vines in Australia and produces extraordinary wines with great longevity. Best’s flagship wine, the Thomson Family Shiraz, has an Outstanding designation from Langton’s Auction house.

Until the 1950’s, Best’s red wines were labelled Claret and the white wines were labelled Hock and they were bottled for customers both in Australia and overseas on demand. In the 1960’s, Bests began to release varietally labelled vintage wines. Throughout the history of the winery, there have only been two owners, the Best family, who founded the winery, and the Thomson family, who bought it after Henry Best’s death in 1920.

These days, many Australian festive tables are adorned with a bottle of sparkling Shiraz. This uniquely Australian style has been made since the mid-1900s, so when Best’s released the Great Western Sparkling Shiraz in the 1950s, it felt like a natural progression for our Shiraz production and a great opportunity to represent the sparkling style of the Great Western region. It has become a very popular wine in the range.

After a pause in production, there was an uprising of sorts that saw Best’s Sparkling Shiraz brought back to life. In 2009, when Viv and Chris Thomson were away on their annual winter holiday, the team was handed a too-good-to-knock-back opportunity to re-launch the sparkling red. Viv wasn’t convinced the Aussie drinking population was ready to embrace the red bubbles, nor was he overly excited about bringing this wine back from the dead after such a long hiatus. But returning this wine to the stables seemed like the right decision, so Best’s winemaker at the time Adam Wadewitz and the rest of the team made the call to bring it back and release a small amount.

By the time Viv and Chris returned from holiday, the bottles were already moving off the shelf and we crowned our cheeky mutiny a roaring success.

Subsequent research on the style of Sparkling Shiraz in the region has been undertaken, including consultation with legendary winemakers, such as Ian McKenzie, and over the last few years we’ve been able to identify specific vineyards that best lend themselves to the sparkling Shiraz style.

Best’s Shiraz grapes for sparkling wine are picked early in the season, fermented in vats and a small amount of oak barrels. The wine is savoury and of medium body, retaining freshness as well as intensity over time. Best’s Winemaker, Justin Purser, is also a sparkling Shiraz believer, and has instigated his own changes to the sparkling production process, including using aged liqueur muscat from old Best’s casks as dosage liqueur.

This wine is certainly an acquired taste, but despite its distinctiveness it often sells out in the lead-up to Christmas, as it’s not produced in huge volumes. Best’s sparkling red has rounded out the range to include some of the historically significant styles of Shiraz made in Great Western.

Discover more about this uniquely Australian wine and stock up for the festive season.

2014 Thomson Family Shiraz Wins James Halliday Wine Companion Wine of the Year
By Justin Purser

Winning the Halliday Wine Companion Qantas Epicure Wine of the Year with our 2014 Thomson Family Shiraz and attaining a score of 99/100 was a fulfilling moment for the entire team at Best’s. The rarity of this wine means that it is never entered into wine shows and is rarely reviewed by wine critics, so to have a critic of James’s calibre reward it with such high praise gives credence as to why this wine is so special.

Made from the 15 rows of old Shiraz vines planted in the 1860s, the Thomson family has nurtured and protected these dry-grown gnarly old ladies for four generations and the Best family for two generations before that. This award is a fine acknowledgement of the tireless efforts of the Thomsons, the Bests and the generations of workers in the vineyards and the winery – their acute focus has compelled the Halliday team to hail this Great Western expression as the greatest Australian wine out of the 9000-odd that are reviewed for the Halliday Wine Companion.

Not only is it a fitting tribute to the resilience of these vines and of a small family business, it is also a testament to the history and success of Shiraz in Victoria. If it was possible to capture the Victorian wine history in a glass, the Thomson Family Shiraz would be it. This wine, we believe, has a special character that goes beyond turning grapes into wine, an ‘x factor’, if you like. The team at Best’s works very hard to ensure all our wines, but this one especially, are given every chance to fully achieve the quality levels attainable in Great Western, to capture the essence of the vineyards and to develop that x factor. We applaud them for their efforts and congratulate them on achieving such levels of quality.

With the length of the 2014 harvest (it progressed right until the end of April) we already had an inkling of the quality of the 2014 Shiraz wines. This protracted season enabled the grapes to achieve lots of layers of flavour. We knew we were onto something post-blending in mid-2015 when the wines began to unveil their charms presenting succulent, rolling flavours in the mouth combined with great balance and persistence. We believe that all the 2014 red wines will continue to get better with cellaring and hopefully will be looking good in 30 years’ time – if you can wait that long.

Listen to Justin Purser, Viv Thomson and James Halliday speak about this wine in this short video.

Best’s Great Western neighbour Seppelt has been in the news lately. When its owner Treasury Wine Estates announced in October 2015 that Seppelt’s cellar door would be closing, sighs of disappointment were heard all over the country. Thankfully, this historic winery, with an intimate family connection to Best’s Wines, has received a stay of execution.

It comes in the form of local businessman Daniel Ahchow, who owns Great Western Garage not far from Seppelt and runs an online recruitment company. Mr Ahchow has signed a leasing agreement with Treasury Wine Estates to keep the tourism element of the estate alive and kicking.

The agreement will see Seppelt’s 3km heritage-listed ‘Drives’ tunnels remain open to the public, as well as its cellar door, function and accommodation facilities. This is the official home of Seppelt, and will remain so for the near future.

Despite the fact that there is no official winemaking facility on site, Seppelt’s cellar door will continue to offer the brand’s wines for tasting where you can experience the history of Best’s closest neighbour.

This new ownership is great news for Best’s – we believe Seppelt’s history sits side by side that of Best’s. Joseph Best, the brother of Best’s founder Henry Best, founded Seppelt more than 150 years ago. Our desire is to encourage more people to discover the wines, beauty and history of the Great Western region, so we truly hope this new agreement will arrest any potential visitation decline.

It’s great news that Seppelt’s current employees will be given the chance to remain employed at the cellar door, and we’re thrilled that under the new partnership agreement, there are plans for funds raised from tours of Seppelt’s Drives to contribute to the development of the Great Western township via the Great Western Future Plan.

Seppelt’s Drives tunnels are the longest underground cellars in the southern hemisphere and provide a fascinating glimpse into Victorian history alongside Best’s fascinating story. Best’s and Seppelt are both about two hours’ drive from Melbourne. Our region is set against a backdrop of the spectacular Grampians sandstone mountain ranges, so a visit is a must for wine and history lovers alike.

Picture this: five former Best’s winemakers, Best’s patriarch Viv Thomson OAM and current Best’s winemaker Justin Purser, all in a room accompanied by enough amazing aged and rare bottles to impress the best of the best wine media.

The occasion? One hundred and fifty years ago, on 18 May 1866, Henry Best was granted a license to occupy four blocks of land on which the Concongella winery and vineyards stand today. What a remarkable achievement that the Thomson family continues to produce wines from the vines that Henry planted all those years ago, using the same cellars and barrels installed at the winery in the 1870s.

So it’s this 150-year anniversary of Best’s continual production of fine Great Western wines that Viv Thomson was celebrating. At the lunch, Viv led a wine tasting like no other. It was a celebration of the combined 150-year history of two families. Importantly, it was also acknowledgement of the distinctive wines that have been produced over this prolific period and how each of the respective winemakers have had a role in evolving the brand to make the style of wines that we are proud to put our name to today.

From Viv’s perspective, the lunch was also a celebration of all that had gone before – from his father Eric and mother Mary, his Uncle Bill and his wife Jessie, together with Viv’s grandfather Frederick, who Viv believes worked through the toughest Best’s shift of all, between 1920 and 1960.

Their time at Best’s was difficult due to the boom and bust of the 1920s, then the Depression of the 1930s, followed by the war years, then the slow march forward as Australia resurrected itself on the back of the wool and agriculture industries of the 1950s.

Viv returned to the family fold at the winery in the 1960s to discover that Australians had begun to embrace table wines. And what a fantastic discovery that was. At that time, Victoria boasted 16 wineries. Current count goes beyond 800.

Viv is grateful for all the people who have helped stand Best’s winery in such confident stead among the industry and its loyal customers. Viv’s wife Christine is undoubtedly his greatest supporter – her efforts in accumulating so much of the Thomson family history in order to publish Best’s commemorative 150-year book are so appreciated.

Viv’s children all remain active at the winery in various roles. Ben is now at the helm as Managing Director. And Hamish, Yvette and Marcus have all contributed to the success of Best’s over the years.

So where did the celebration take place? Melbourne’s Jimmy Watsons’ Bar – it was such a fitting place in which to commemorate the day, given its history. It first opened as a wine merchant place of business in 1935, and has gradually evolved as a meeting place for lovers of wine to this day. Viv is honoured the Watson family agreed to host this special day.

Best’s history is coloured with so many acclaimed winemakers and on the day we were lucky that most of them could join us to discuss the wines of which they are most proud. Best’s current winemaker, Justin Purser (2011-present), was joined by Adam Wadewitz (2005-2011), Hamish Seabrook (2000-2005), Michael Unwin (97-2000), Simon Clayfield (88-97), and Sandy Mast (wife of the late Trevor 75-98).

So which wines were enjoyed?

Best’s Whites

2015 Foudre Ferment Riesling

2011 Great Western Chardonnay

2003 Great Western Riesling

1998 Great Western Chardonnay

1995 Great Western Riesling

1977 Great Western Riesling

1974 Great Western Rhine Riesling

Best’s Reds

2014 Pinot Meunier Pinot Noir

2006 Thomson Family Shiraz

2001 Bin No. 0 Shiraz

1998 Great Western Pinot Noir

1992 Thomson Centenary Shiraz

1981 Hermitage Bin No. 0

1967 Bin No. 0 Claret

Along with these rare and aged wines, we enjoyed the limited release wines that were crafted to commemorate Best’s 150th anniversary.

Great wine is made to be shared. And one of the most fulfilling parts of belonging to the wine industry is hearing the stories of people opening those bottles with friends. It’s not always about cracking open the oldest vintage in your cellar (although that is a unique story in itself!). It could be a brand new wine release that’s made from small parcels of pristine fruit picked from lovingly nurtured vines. Just like we do in Best’s Great Western vineyards.

So in conjunction with Best’s 150th Anniversary celebrations, here’s your excuse to open those bottles you’ve been saving.

Best’s is hosting a series of Open That Bottle Nights throughout 2016. Put the following dates in your diary to join in the fun:

Saturday 27 February 2016 (Global Open That Bottle Night)

Saturday 21 May 2016

Saturday 3 September 2016

What’s Open that Bottle Night?

The concept of Open That Bottle Night (OTBN) was initiated by two reporters at The Wall Street Journal. Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher wanted to encourage their readers to open a significant bottle, then to share their stories. Since its inauguration in 2000, the event has become a global phenomenon, and is always held annually on the last Saturday in February.

The underlying premise of Open That Bottle Night is that wine is more than liquid in a bottle. With the opening of these wines comes memories of life milestones, births, deaths and marriages, long lost loved ones and treasured holidays. These memories are too precious and significant not to celebrate and share.

So, here’s how to hold your own Open That Bottle Night:

Dig out a special wine that you’ve been saving for a special occasion or purchase a new release to celebrate and join in the fun.

Invite friends and family to your place or an outdoor picnic while the weather is a warm? Tell your guests it’s a special occasion – you provide the wine, they bring a plate? Or try to match the food to the wine being opened?

Once the wine has been opened and tasted, post your thoughts using #OTBN, or if you’re opening an old bottle of Best’s Wine, use #Bestswines150.

Tell the stories about the wines – where did you buy it from, did you meet the winemaker, what food matches best. Is there a story from early days of discovering wine that you care to share?

Plan to do it all over again!

Don't waste the opportunity of opening a special bottle – take Best’s winemaker Justin’s advice about how to open old wines by reading his blog post: http://www.bestswines.com/blog/How-To-Open-Old-Wines

With a healthy collection of aged and rare wines in our cellar, the team at Best’s has loads of experience opening these bottles with all the required pomp and ceremony. So how to open old wines safely? Simple common sense and a few tips and tricks will help ensure your old wine makes it into the glass as good as new. One piece of advice – don’t sweat over deciding to open old bottles. It’s better to drink them too young, than too old.

Not all bottles need decanting. Bottles with 15 or more years of age are encouraged to open up better in a glass, rather than fade in a decanter.

Carefully take the bottle from its cellar position and place it upright in a cool area, close to where it will be served. Do this at least 12 hours before serving to allow any sediment to settle to the base of the bottle.

Think about service temperature: 6-10°C for whites; 14-18°C for reds. Lighter styles are better at lower temperatures. It might be necessary to place a bottle of red in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving, especially on a hot day.

If the wine is under cork, use a good corkscrew; the double-lever waiter's friend style is the best for removing soft old corks.

Cut off the foil seal below the lip of the neck, rather than cutting above the lip. It’s easier to cut, clean and pours better.

Clean any mould, dust or muck from the lip of the bottle with a moist tea towel and/or dry brush.

Keep the bottle upright and carefully place the tip of the corkscrew in the middle of the cork. With even pressure, gently turn the screw vertically downwards until ¾ of the screw is in the cork.

Gently lever the corkscrew up in stages – slow is the key when removing an old cork. If the cork tears you may need to re-screw in the corkscrew and start again. If the cork comes out in clumps, don’t worry, just remove as much as possible then quickly pour a dash of wine into a glass which should remove any dust or loose bits of cork.

Pour a sample into a glass and taste. Hopefully the cork gods have been kind and the wine is still attractive and vibrant. If the wine is closed (very little aroma) or reductive (smells like a struck match or rotten egg), it will probably benefit from decanting but 1 hour should be plenty.

When decanting, slowly pour the wine into a decanter, a clean empty bottle or a similar-style vessel. As you come to the final pour, look for sediment in a well-lit area. When sediment reaches the neck, that’s a sign to stop pouring. If you don’t have a decanter, rinse your original bottle and pour the wine back in for service.

Hopefully, your timeworn wine will have aged gracefully and you’ll have the chance to savor, discuss and enjoy. (If possible, reserve a backup in case the wine has reached its use-by date.)

Heading to the Grampians soon? We thought you’d like a helping hand to draw up a to-do list while you’re here. Best’s Wines certainly attracts many visitors, but we’re humble enough to recognise the appeal of many other top wineries in this Victorian wine region – from Seppelt Great Western through to Mount Langi Ghiran, each winery represents a slice of the Grampians wine region and is worth a visit. The Grampians National Park is also a major draw card, with its natural wonders and winding walks. Read on for the best travel tips in the Grampians region. We look forward to seeing you!

Wineries

It goes without saying that if you’re in the area, a visit to Best’s Wines is a must, with our age-old cellar door, 150-year-old vines and warm hospitality. But there’s a colourful selection of other wineries, rich in history and alive with new energy, to discover in the Grampians region. From the iconic Mount Langi Ghiran to the popular Seppelt Great Western, there’s a vast array of destinations to choose from. Visit visitvictoria.com/Regions/Grampians to find out more.

The Pinnacle Walk

From the local town of Halls Gap, bordering the Grampians National Park, The Pinnacle lookout can be seen towering above everything in its wake. It may look scarily high, but hiking to the lookout is not as gruelling as it seems. Every effort made to get there is worth it, as the scenic views over the vast expanse of the Grampians National Park are staggering.

The easiest route to The Pinnacle begins at the Sundial car park within the national park and ascends to The Pinnacle via Devils Gap. Choose this route if you have children or less confident walkers in tow. The 4.2km walk will take one and a half to two hours for the return trip. It does include water crossings and rock-hopping, so good sturdy shoes are essential.

The more testing walk departs from the aptly named Wonderland car park and ascends via the impressive Grand Canyon. Its unique Australian rock formations are super impressive, albeit on a smaller scale than its American counterpart. The walk continues through the Silent Street before rising up to The Pinnacle. For details, visit http://parkweb.vic.gov.au.

Mackenzie Falls

Also in the Grampians National Park are the spectacular Mackenzie Falls. The numerous cascades of the Mackenzie River as it flows through the gorge can be viewed from the Bluff Lookout, accessible via a sealed walk that meanders through sheltered woodland from the Mackenzie Falls car park. Daring walkers can also continue on a downward track to the base of the Mackenzie Falls. For details, visit http://parkweb.vic.gov.au.

Halls Gap Zoo

Visit Halls Gap Zoo to encounter an amazing 160 species of native and exotic mammals, reptiles and birds. Sitting in the foothills of the majestic Grampians mountain ranges, the zoo is home to meerkats, giraffes, cheetahs, red pandas, lemurs, macaws and a huge array of wallaby and kangaroo species. For details, visit http://hallsgapzoo.com.au.

Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre

The Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre tells the story of the Chinese miners’ taxing journey from Southern China to Australia, where they dreamed big about finding their own pot of gold. Designed in the traditional style of Southern Chinese Architecture, and incorporating the principals of Feng Shui, the two-storey building houses a fascinating selection of interactive displays and period pieces. Imagine life during Ararat’s early beginnings and the excitement of the immigrants who discovered one of the world’s richest shallow alluvial goldfields. For details, visit http://arts-events-tourism.ararat.vic.gov.au/gum-san-heritage-centre.

Brambuk, the National Park & Cultural Centre

Drop in to Brambuk (meaning renewal) to see the culture of the Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung indigenous communities come to life. The cultural centre provides everything you need to know about the park and its people, so you’re fully equipped to discover the park’s environment and Aboriginal culture. Enjoy bush foods at the café and perusing the Aboriginal arts and crafts at the gift store. For details, visit http://brambuk.com.au.

Flies on the walls at Best’s would have heard this phrase uttered often this vintage. We did have lower yields than we’d have liked, due to the lack of water, but the upside is the lower yields have contributed to more concentration, and the moderate weather has meant the wines will still be medium bodied and fine. Quality has been very good across the board for both the reds and whites, with bright varietal aromas and rich flavours.

Although the summer was warm and dry, the vines weren’t exposed to any nasty heat waves, which meant they faired reasonably well. A succession of cooler nights from late summer into autumn provided ‘hang time’ to allow the grapes’ flavours to develop slowly.

Then, 100mm of rain in the Great Western area in early January gave the vines a great boost, as the soil was very dry. The vines are nearly all picked now, just our 13 Acre Cabernet Block remains. (Cabernet is always the last to come in but this year it’s worth the wait.)

Among our usual suspects assisting at vintage time has been Joe Warren, former chef turned winemaker from Queensland, and Raphael Mulligan, a French sommelier from Rockpool in Sydney. With Great Western temperatures plummeting to a chilly 2C, Rabs and Raf, as they are affectionately known, have begged, borrowed and stolen every piece of warm clothing available to survive the bleak conditions working atop the outdoor red fermenters. (I would not be surprised if they have been tempted to bathe in the heat of the red ferment!)

During the off-season and quiet times (which are few and far between), we’ve been tweaking, servicing and upgrading the tools and toys in the winery. And this vintage we’ve been able to test them out properly. Our cooling system has been serviced and upgraded to cool more tanks and to produce more flow. Despite an orchestra of weird and wonderful noises emanating from the liquid flowing through a serpentine network of pipes, the upgrade is certainly a relief for weary winemakers (and questioning wives!), who previously made midnight checks to ensure a tank wasn’t too hot or too cold.

I believe 2015 will be remembered as a low-yield year with good wines, similar to 2009 and 2014, but without heat waves reducing quality. In terms of style, it will be similar to 2012 or 2014 – fine, rich varietal wines without excess weight. I can’t wait to try the 2015 wines down the track.

Vintage 2015 is well under way, with the first grapes brought into the winery in the last week of February. It’s always so satisfying to reach the pointy end of a hard-fought battle with Mother Nature and to celebrate the fruit of our labour coming to life in the vineyard.

Our vintage crew for is headed by Best’s winemaker Justin Purser, with assistant winemaker Simon, cellar hands Andy and Hadyn, and lab technician Leanne. Joe Warren from Brisbane, who is a recent wine graduate with a culinary background, joins us for vintage, as well as sommelier Raphael from Rockpool 1989 in Sydney.

The picking season kicked off slightly earlier this year due to the ideal ripening weather (warmish days and cool nights) and 10cm of rain in January, which brought grape maturity forward. Despite lower yields due to frost and a cold spring in 2013, which is when the primordial buds that determine fruitfulness for this season were formed, the grapes are full of flavour.

Our first varieties to be picked were Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. The flavours and aromas are fantastically intense but the yields are low. So the fruit is great but we would like more of it!

Andy, our basket press guru, was surprised to learn that we need to push our Riesling grapes through an open press traditionally reserved for red grapes. What are these grapes like? Think plump, sticky fruit that explodes like gumnuts in a bushfire.

Speaking of blazes, we had our own scare earlier this year when a fire raged through grasslands just south of Best’s property. Thankfully the winds kept it away but one of our fantastic Shiraz growers was not so lucky. Devastatingly, their entire crop was wiped out, so sadly their hard work has gone to waste and we miss out on their terrific fruit for the 2015 vintage. Such is the occasional severity of Mother Nature!

On a positive note, the acids are nicely high this year, which can be seen in the grapes retaining all their acid and flavour at harvest – a sure sign of a good season ahead. After battling super warm weather conditions in past vintages, last year we invested in an insulated container that we hook up to an air-conditioning unit. It's perfect for storing grapes before processing and fermenting chardonnay barrels.

After handpicking Pinot Noir grapes a few days ago, we stored them in this insulated container. The next day I walked in to the winery and was happily punched in the face by an intense perfume of violets and musky cherries. What a way to start the day! Now the goal is to capture all those amazing characteristics in the bottle. Inspiring stuff.

Next week, the remaining Riesling and most of the Pinot Noir will be harvested and maybe even some Shiraz. Wish us luck!

Our winemaking philosophy at Best’s is that great wines are made in the vineyard. Even while practicing a minimalist approach, attention to detail is key. We avoid the overpowering use of oak or additional treatments and instead prefer to let the fantastic fruit from Great Western tell the story, which is evident in all seven of these featured wines.

We have has been consistently producing exceptional, food-friendly, elegant and approachable wines with great longevity since 1866.
Our patriarch, Viv Thomson and his son Ben, current Managing Director and Vineyard Manager, have worked with Best’s winemakers for the last 40 years to ensure continuity of house style while encouraging the winemakers to constantly look for ways to innovate and improve.

All of these wines were produced by our very talented winemaker, Justin Purser. Justin, also a firm believer that great wines start in the vineyard, produces wines that reflect where they came from. When you enjoy a glass of Best's you enjoy a glass of Great Western. The characteristics reflected in the wine are a product of our region - our unique climate, soil types, and vineyard practices all contribute to the style of our wines.